Philadelphia Weekly

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A steady melody filled a rehearsal space in the Lee Cultural Center, as members of the Kùlú Mèlé African Dance and Drum Ensemble prepared for an upcoming concert. With colorful fabrics tied around their waists, the female dancers appeared to fall under the influence of a West African djembe drum rhythm and slip into another time and space.

“Nothing matters when you’re dancing,” explains dancer Dorothy Wilkie. “Your problems don’t exist. Your worries don’t exist. All that matters is the music and finding your place within the rhythm.”

It’s been more than 30 years since Wilkie settled into her place within the rhythms of Africa. As the artistic director of Kùlú Mèlé, she has performed in cultural venues around the nation while leading and training a troupe of dancers dedicated to presenting and preserving the culture, dance and music of the Diaspora.

The ensemble recently returned from a residency in West Africa, funded by a Pew Fellowship for the Arts, where they trained with Guinean dance masters to create Mali Sadjo—The Legend of the Hippopotamus; an African-inspired ballet about the relationship between humans and the environment. Sixteen members of the company, including drummers, spent 14 days continuously rehearsing chorography and learning traditional music and song. Although the trip was exhausting Wilkie says the excursion provided the company with a level of training they’d never experienced. 

“We’ve been performing West African and Afro-Cuban dance for years but this is the first time we’ve brought an entire performance back home to present to the community,” Wilkie says. “That’s an honor for us. To actually train on the continent was invaluable. To be in that space and put the dance in context changes the way we perform.”
 

Kùlú Mèlé’s journey as a company began in the late 1960s as African and Afro-Cuban immigrants began to bring their traditional dance forms to the States during a time when populations of black Americans were building a national identity and searching for a connection with their heritage, Wilkie explains. As the dance form funneled into major cities like Philadelphia, African Americans began to organize community-level classes and companies. Founded 40 years ago by master drummer Baba Robert Crowder, Kùlú Mèlé, is the oldest African dance troupe in the city.

“Crowder paved the way,” Wilkie says of the 79-year-old drummer who can still be found playing with local drum batteries.
 These days, the traditional dance forms of the African Diaspora have attracted the interest of multi-ethnic dance communities across the county. Dances that are traditionally performed to welcome a new baby, celebrate a harvest or encourage men to pick a suitor are now performed in community centers across the country. In Philadelphia, a vibrant community of West African and Afro-Cuban dance enthusiasts gather in community centers weekly to learn folklore and dance from Cuba, Brazil, Senegal, The Gambia, Ivory Coast and Guinea. 

But despite its growing popularity, some don’t regard the dance form in the same way they would classical dances like ballet. This doesn’t matter much to Angela Watson who’s been dancing with Kùlú Mèlé for a decade.
Watson began studying African dance forms in high school and has spent the last decade perfecting her craft. She’s watched as the dance classes once populated by a majority African American student base became more integrated and the overall interest in the dance form begin to grow in dance circles and pop culture. 

“It’s considered a folk art, a community-based art used to bring people,” Watson says. “You’re not going to see this on Broadway, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if it gains national acclaim. Communities are created around this dance form. That’s all that matters.”